hand. 'No, no, I'm not mocking you, Doctor. We are natural
brothers. I am confrontational, as you know, by nature. You
are not a man who turns away from conflict. So you followed
the message. What else did it tell you?'
'As I said, I couldn't see who was sending it. The Terraphile
Re-Enactors were mentioned, Tom Mix, Dissolution... A few
names. So the only thing to do was to go there and find out.'
'And what have you found out so far?'
'That the dark tides are certainly running. Leaking into
our hemisphere. Wide and deep. A million currents all at
different speeds. Different times. Faster than I realised.
Dangerously fast. Way beyond any previously noted speeds.
Which essentially means everything will vanish from the
universe, maybe even the multiverse, long before their
natural, expected time. A thousand years or less instead of
billions...'
'And you know what the dark tides are?'
'As much as anyone. They give out no light though they
absorb light. They attract, much as gravity attracts. A dark
current creates storms in space when it meets with the
elements defining the environment we both inhabit. With
anything defying gravity. Beyond our sphere it pulls whole
galaxies with it, presumably into the powerful black hole
none of us has ever seen. Around that all matter revolves.
In our own galaxy our black hole is the best-known gateway
into the antimatter multiverse, which exists in opposition to
our own. It is, I believe, one of a series orbiting that larger
phenomenon. Opposition is what guarantees the survival
of everything in Creation. Without it the multiverse would
collapse into inchoate primal matter and antimatter which in
turn would dissipate into nothingness - a multiverse without
shape or meaning - or intelligence.'
'Intelligence, Doctor. There's the key, eh? It would
cease to be. Whatever you call that fundamental power of
reason and creation is what allows the multiverse to exist.
Without it we are condemned, essentially, to non-existence.
Whatever our motives or ambitions, they are meaningless
without an ordered multiverse where Law balances Chaos,
matter balances antimatter, Life balances Death. One cannot
exist without the other. And somehow, as you've observed,
antimatter is infecting matter, Law and Chaos are confused
and soon - what?'
'Life and death will become indistinguishable. Matter
and antimatter, law and chaos, good and evil, become
indistinguishable. All the opposing qualities which at
present are in balance, which give meaning to existence, will
disappear.'
'And this process is rapidly increasing, eh? Do you know
why that is, Doctor?'
'I'm here to find out.'
'That's the spirit, Doctor.' His voice was grim now
without a hint of sarcasm. 'So have you discovered why, in
your efforts to return the cycle to its natural speed, Miggea
is important?'
'Because she is the nearest star system to the Hub. Because
she has unusual properties.'
'True. But that's all you know?'
'She has an eccentric orbit and her orbit takes her closer
to the multiversal Hub than any other body.' The Doctor
studied the masked man's eyes.
'Why are you playing these contests in Miggea?'
'Why? That's obvious, captain. To win the Silver Arrow.'
The Doctor was frowning, curious. He shifted in his chair. 'I
suppose.'
'To win an arrow which has been the prize in an archery
tournament held every two hundred and fifty years for
the last few thousand or so. Not legendary for that reason,
surely? The arrow has qualities. Associations. And could be
what - a million years old? Fifty thousand at least. That's
how long scientists have noted the dark currents dragging
our universe in.' Captain Cornelius shrugged to himself,
reaching over to the table for the flask of Vortex Water. He
offered to refresh their glasses but they refused. 'So - the
dark tide has been running for at least fifty thousand years!
Admittedly running faster and more ferociously than when
we of this galaxy first noticed what was happening. From
Earth in the post-enlightenment period, mm?'
'That's right. On Earth they only had the means of
identifying it by the year 2010. I've been trying to understand
it ever since. Do you know why this is happening, captain? Is
that why you're here?'
'This is my native space-time sector. My scientists have
had a chance to study the dark tides at some proximity. As
the scientific community has observed, there is no doubt
that the tide or tides have enormous powers of gravity. The
dark tides could be a quality of gravity. Gravity is a quality
of matter. Matter is a quality of time. Gravity makes the
universe go round. Without it, everything would collapse,
as you've said. Anti-gravity cannot, of course, exist without
gravity. Everything is comprised of opposites. Destroy that
opposition and you destroy - well, as you said, Doctor -
everything, as we've discussed.' He reached for his pipe,
changed his mind.
'Now, what if the balance, on which we depend, were
maintained by something more than a metaphysical idea but
by a physical element? Let's call that element a "regulator"
the same sort of thing they put on primitive beam engine
to make them work at a desired speed and so on. Clocks
too. This regulator maintains the multiverse theoretical
through eternity. The universe of matter slowly become
antimatter and the universe of antimatter turns into matter
Out of death comes life and out of life comes death. Opposite
sustain existence.'
'That's not a profound notion, captain. We're agreed on
that. You asked what if this "regulator" were something
physical?'
'Or something, at any rate, which could assume physical
shape.'
'Fine, yes, all right. But does it change itself? Or is its shape
determined by the will of a sentient creature, or a number
of sentient creatures? Do you have a theory about what tha
shape could be?'
'I think you know what I think. The story I like best is tha
to protect itself your so called Roogalator can shift shape
the way a cuttlefish, for instance, can disguise itself in both
colour and shape when it recognises potential danger.' Th
captain leaned forward. 'But perhaps it takes time to change
We know that some of us can come and go across the world
of matter and antimatter. What if one such person found tha
regulator and, not really knowing its function, stole it? What
would happen then?'
'I don't know...' mused the Doctor. 'I'd guess it would
return automatically to its place at the centre of existence.'
'Perhaps. But it might need a similar means of returning
A carrier to take its physical manifestation back to its natural
environment. An intelligent agent - something or someo
ne
who could replace it and put the multiverse back on course
again?'
The Doctor's face showed that he understood, though
Amy was struggling to keep up.
'You're no doubt suggesting this prize arrow you're
seeking is also the missing regulator?' The Doctor fingered
his chin. 'But that doesn't make sense. They've only been
running these matches for a few thousand years or so, and the
irregularities were first observed in the twenty-first century.
Even if you understand that time flows at different speeds
and space has moments of intense malleability, it still doesn't
explain what's going on. Oh!' He brightened. 'Unless there
are two arrows, or one—'
has assumed the identity of the other,' Cornelius
finished. 'Perhaps to disguise itself from the original thief,
who is looking for it still.' He leaned his strange, masked
head on his hand.
'Frank/Freddie Force again!' exclaimed the Doctor.
The captain nodded. 'Apparently it has changed hands
severed times. It wound up in the shop of an antiquities dealer
on Venice and then seems to have disappeared. We were on
Venice not so long ago. I hoped to find it Well, Force and his
men followed us into deep space and requested a conference.
I saw nothing to lose. He told me what he sought and I was
curious, though I didn't have it And wouldn't have traded it
to him if I had. He's one of the few beings we know with the
arrogance to think he can return order to the cosmos. That's
my theory.'
'He's been looking for it effectively for ever - dodging
in and out of Chaos space and antimatter space, searching
for that regulator.' The Doctor was enjoying this exchange.
'He's discovered a little information here, a little there, even-
time he makes a foray into our universe. Maybe he was the
original thief? Unlike most of us, he can travel between the
hemispheres of matter and antimatter and remain alive. The
Arrow, if that's what it is, has the power to change its shape
if it is threatened. We know that much, at least, from legend.
Not exactly a thinking object but capable of hiding itself from
those who would use it for their own ends? Cup, sword,
animal, even human form when useful. Does it think as we
think? I don't know.'
'What if Force was the one who stole it?' suggested
Cornelius. 'And then he lost it and has been hunting for
it across time and space, making expeditions into our
hemisphere whenever he dares or has a clue. If so, then he
still believes possession of it will allow him the power to
control it.'
'That's impossible. Insane!' The Doctor's face cleared. 'Ah!
Frank/Freddie's never been sane. And the very act of stealing
the regulator would have increased his delusion. But why
would he believe we carried it with us?'
'He told me he'd smelled it. Not literally, I'm sure. But
through some sixth sense - an affinity he achieved through
the very act of trying to make it his own. He sensed it was
with you. I don't know, because he is moving in and out of
time and is most likely the unwitting cause of some of these
storms? The regulator—let's say it is t h a t - h a s changed shape
more than once in its efforts to elude him.
'So there could be two arrows?' The Doctor nodded
slowly. 'One is this mysterious shape-changing regulator
and the other is the one we're playing for? Or—' The Doctor
was becoming excited. He broke into a delighted laugh. 'Or
the regulator somehow was passed over to Mrs Banning-
Cannon. We all saw it go in the vault.' The Doctor shook his
head. 'He must have looked for it there first. But the vault is
outside time and space. That could mean the arrow in the
vault that I'm going to play for isn't the one he's after. It's
no more than what we always thought it was. In which case
none of us has the faintest idea where the Roogalator is. It's
not an arrow. It could have taken any form. A nano-dot or a
planet.'
Captain Cornelius smiled. 'Oh, we really should see more
of one another, Doctor! There are few with our knowledge
of the multiverse's quirks!' He got to his feet and, watched
vigilantly by Captain Snarri, began to pace the cabin, the
flickering firelight creating expressive reflections and
shadows on his mask. 'Well, well. So General Force is playing
a deeper game than we know, eh? Or he thinks he's playing
a deeper game. Hmmm.' A small, slightly sinister laugh. 'He
plays a subtle game, at the very least. But why should he take
such a risk to board your ship if the arrow wasn't on it?'
'I'm not sure he is that subtle. Perhaps he honestly believed
we were carrying the arrow.' The Doctor hesitated. 'He
attacked our ship clearly believing that what he sought was
hidden in the hat one of our passengers had had stolen but
which was recovered before we left Peer™.'
'A hat? He was after a hat?'
'Exactly,' said the Doctor. 'And who knows how long he
has been pursuing the hat or whatever part of the hat had the
arrow in it?'
'The arrow was a decoration, perhaps?'
'But if so it must have been well hidden in the rest of the
decoration because no one remarked on its being missing. In
fact Mrs B-C, the owner of the hat, was clear that, as far as
she could tell, nothing was missing. There was evidence that
someone looked for an object hidden in the hat and didn't
find it. It wasn't there or she would have said something.'
'She's not a lady to keep any disappointment to herself,'
added Amy, fingering her necklace.
'And why would the prize for the contest well be playing
when we reach Miggea be hidden amongst us?' asked the
Doctor. 'It doesn't make any kind of sense.'
The captain nodded slowly. 'So we have a mystery. How,
I wonder, are we going to solve it?'
Amy felt suddenly tired. She wanted to curl up in the big
Stickley chair and drift off to sleep. She was finding it hard to
be terrified by the most feared pirate in the galaxy. She was
growing used to this, though; if she had learned one thing in
her relatively short career it was to do with powerful men.
Their actions might be dreadful, both ruthless and cruel, but
they were sometimes surprisingly charming in person. And
Captain Cornelius, there was no doubt, was very charming
indeed.
Captain Snarri stood up to replenish their drinks.
It was evident he was unhappy about the trend of the
conversation.
'You're certain that Arrow isn't aboard your ship, Doctor?'
Captain Cornelius accepted the VW.
'As certain as I can be, captain.' The Doctor took a sip of
Vortex Water. 'As certain as I am that your old-fashioned
sense of chivalry ensures us our freedom. We have nothing
you want.'
Captain Cornelius sat down again, crossed his legs
and stared thoughtfully into his fire. 'You're wrong there,
Doctor.'
'Do you know where Frank/Freddie Force and their men
are now?' asked the Doctor.
'We tracked them as far as Cygnus and then lost them. We
thought they might be going home.'
'No clear idea of the system he was headed for?'
'I'm afraid not.' The captain reached to knock out his long-
stemmed pipe in the grate. 'He was showing - you know -
matter-chill they call it. Why he was so far out I didn't ask.
I assumed his mission was of some importance. Maybe he'd
brought his ship in via Cygnus. They can do that, I'm told.
He had tracked us out from Venice. He followed the usual
etiquette so we allowed him to board, though some of mv
men were against it They had a notion the skins of Force's
men would burst and send us all to our reward. Which, as
you can imagine, is not likely to be a comfortable one for
us. Are you a praying man, Doctor? You, captain? you Mile
Pond? Are any of you in the habit of ascribing a maker to all
that?' And he waved his pipe to indicate eternity.
The Doctor did not answer. 'Did he come because you had
something he wanted?' he asked instead.
'He offered me a huge reward if I could help him find it. I
fear I sent him on his way. But I don't deny I was intrigued. If
he has a method of sensing the thing he seeks, he must have
known I did not have it.'
'He returned towards the Hub, you say.'
'Yes. I assume so. Our instruments lost him.'
The Doctor took another sip of Vortex Water.
'We are all seeking the same thing, yet not one of us has a
clear idea what it is. Or, indeed, who has it. I only know we
have a chance of winning it, fair and square, if we can get
good enough replacements for those we lost in the storm.'
Captain Cornelius laughed spontaneously. 'You plan to
win it?'
'Fair and square. How else can we get hold of it?'
'And if another team wins?'
'We explain that we need it?'
'For what?'
'If it is the stolen regulator or contains the elements of
whatever mysterious stuff constitutes the regulator, we need
to get it into the heart of the black hole where its components
will presumably do their job and restore a proper sequence
to the multiverse.'
'You think they'll agree?'
'I can only hope we will be able to demonstrate our need.'
The Doctor sat back in his chair. He grinned. He shrugged.
'Hope for the best.'
Captain Cornelius drew on his pipe. It was impossible to